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| UK's
largest land & property owners go solar with UK designed,
roof replacing 'Energy Roof' |
 |
| As a
result of a half-million pound investment by The Crown
Estate, a stone factory in Portland stands to save thousands
of pounds a year on its electricity bills. The Crown
Estate-led project saw solar photovoltaic (PV)panels
successfully installed on a factory building that it lets to
Albion Stone, a local mine operator and manufacturer. |
|
In addition to the considerable
electricity savings available to Albion Stone, the solar
panels will also generate a return for The Crown Estate,
which pays its entire revenue surplus to HM Treasury.
Electricity generated from the installation will be sold to
Albion Stone at a reduced rate, with any surplus fed in to
the National Grid. |
|
This is the largest solar
project in which The Crown Estate has invested. The panels
are expected to generate over 150,000 kWh of electricity per
year – the equivalent to the annual consumption of 45 houses
– and will reduce Albion Stone’s carbon footprint by 80
tonnes per year. The installation is particularly innovative
– instead of the panels being built on to the existing roof,
the installation provider replaced the entire roof with an
integrated solution, or ‘Energy Roof’. The Energy Roof will
generate electricity for 25 years and requires little
maintenance. |
|
Alan Laidlaw, head of new
business development for The Crown Estate’s rural estate,
said: “Our investment at Portland represents a significant
first step into solar energy for us. We will continue to
create opportunities for renewable energy investment on our
estate, and are already planning further installations in
the coming years. In particular, we welcome a joint
investment approach to renewable energy, which works both
for us and our tenants, by protecting their businesses from
volatile energy markets, and at the same time cutting carbon
emissions from our estate.” |
|
Susannah Wood, sales director at
Solarcentury, the company that installed the solar system,
said: “The Crown Estate recognised that solar can add value
to their buildings by reducing energy costs for its tenants.
Broadening their offer of support for tenants as property
owners, they now help generate energy and at the same time
create a sustainable income. Choosing to update the property
with a new solar roof, or Energy Roof, is part of a growing
trend to use solar power as a building product. The owners
of agricultural and industrial properties are finding this
an innovative way to update and maximise yields from
buildings.” |
|
The Crown Estate was keen that
the installation should not result in any loss of business
for Albion Stone, and organised the installation to allow
the factory to continue to operate throughout. Michael
Poultney, Managing Director of Albion Stone, said “Albion
Stone has been pleased to support The Crown Estate’s solar
panel project at our stone production factory, which further
reinforces the company’s commitment to a continuing
reduction in the carbon footprint for our Portland Stone.”
|
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Solarcentury has now installed
100 of its "Energy Roofs", since the building integrated
product was designed by the company in 2009. Industrial,
agricultural and commercial roofs have been replaced with
the solar across the UK, France and Italy as organisations
and individuals look to upgrade their roofs. |
|
